This paper discusses the strength enhancements achievable by wrapping wood crossties with composite fabrics. An innovative "banding" technique is discussed to wrap composite fabrics onto structural members. Also, the ability to automate the banding process has been presented. Full-size crosstie samples were used to band glass fabrics in the laboratory and prototype samples were used for the automated process. Results from the strength tests under bending loads indicated increases in strength ranging from 13-30% for full-size wood crosstie samples and 23-40% for prototype samples after wrapping.
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